Congress: Breaking down the vote

The Hill breaks down the key votes on the climate-change bill and how Democrats pulled out all the stops – and votes: "Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) was pulled out of rehab to register his 'yes' vote. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), recovering from heart surgery, was seen walking gingerly before the vote. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), whose wife had pleaded guilty to bribery charges on Friday in Detroit, was in the lower chamber and ultimately voted for the climate change bill. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.) was getting married the next day and needed to sign papers to resign her House seat after being confirmed by the Senate on Thursday for her new job at the State Department. Tauscher not only was in the House on Friday, she served as the presiding officer of the heated and partisan debate. The only Democrat who didn't vote was Rep Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.). Hastings, co-chairman of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, was in Albania on Friday as an election observer."

Woah there, Boehner… "When asked why he read portions of the cap-and-trade bill on the floor Friday night, Boehner told The Hill, 'Hey, people deserve to know what's in this pile of s--t.' … "Pelosi's office declined to comment on Boehner's jab. But one Democratic aide quipped, 'What do you expect from a guy who thinks global warming is caused by cow manure?'"

Roll Call writes that the bipartisan Wyden-Bennett health-care bill with 11 co-sponsors has gotten the cold shoulder from the White House and the Senate's power players.

The Boston Globe front-pages John Kerry's metamorphosis. "For decades, Kerry has been dogged by a reputation for a lack of interest in local affairs and aloofness around his Senate colleagues - an attitude that, combined with his patrician habits, often got him labeled as arrogant. Even when he rode the strength of his foreign policy experience and the drama of his personal story to his party's presidential nomination, a lack of affection for him hampered his candidacy. But the Kerry who returned to the Senate from the presidential trail was a different man, many colleagues noted, and now, with his presidential ambitions behind him and the senior colleague who long dominated his state sidelined by cancer, Kerry is experiencing what fellow lawmakers describe as a midcareer metamorphosis.

"Long regarded as a loner, Kerry now lingers on the Senate floor during votes, talking with colleagues. Once known more for his solo speeches on the floor, Kerry for months has been leading weekly strategy sessions with other senators to find consensus on a climate change bill - a tactic usually identified with Senator Edward M. Kennedy - and following up with friendly meetings with individual senators to address their objections."